Biography Creation 101
Annotated biography template / player application User Information Name: '''This is, quite obviously, your name. Not your character's name, but your name, what you wish to be called by the people in this simm. '''Email Address: '''This is another no brainer, your email address. You need it to complete the join form and receive information from the simm. Use a valid one, please. '''Password: '''The password for your account on this site. '''Date of Birth: Not technically required, but we like to know when you were born so we can celebrate your birthday. At least give us a year. '''Instant Messenger(s): '''These addresses are one of the easiest ways to get a hold of you outside of the site's Private Messaging system. If you have one and are willing to share, write it down here. It's great to be able to discuss plot information and such in real time versus email. Personal Particulars First Name: This is your character's first name. Every character has a name, at least one. Middle Name: Some characters have them, some have initials, some have multiple middle names, and some have none. Your choice here. Last Name: Many characters have them, though some species do not have hard and fast surnames like Terrans do. Use what fits your character here. Suffix: If the character has a degree or something that would warrant a suffix, please add it here. This is like PhD or MD or CEO. If it doesn't apply, skip it this is optional. Position: This is the position on the ship you are applying for. If you are unsure where your character would fit in a department, go ahead and choose the generic Officer for now. We can find a more specific role later. Character Information Gender: Is your character male or female, or something else? Species: What species is your character? Age: How old is your character? Date of Birth: When was your character born? No Unknowns here either, at least give us a year. If you know their age, you must know the year. Place of Birth: Where was your character born? Specify a planet, as well as a province or city. Physical Appearance Height: This is the height of your character. Please make this appropriate. The average Human male is 5' 9" and the average Human female is 5' 4". Adjust accordingly for species of different heights, such as Klingons (taller) or Ferengi (shorter). Remember that if your character is taller than this, they are ABOVE average. Starships are made with the average in mind, and they are only generous to a point. A character that is 7 feet or taller may have to duck through doors and anyone taller than that will begin to stoop in hallways and rooms. Remember that not everyone in Starfleet has exceptional height, your character can be exceptional in other ways, too! Weight: This is your character's weight. Again, be appropriate. If your character is 5' 3" and they weight over 150 lbs, they are probably overweight; likewise if your character is 6' 7" and they weigh 230 lbs, they might be thin. Different species store body mass differently, too, so a Tellarite's weight may affect their appearance much differently than a Klingon's. Again, not everyone in Starfleet is exceptionally fit, nor are they always completely healthy. Some characters onscreen have been depicted as downright portly, or worryingly thin. Choose accordingly. Hair Color: This is the color of your character's hair (on their head). Human colors range from black to brown to shades of reddish-orange, or, as they age, grey to white. Andorians range from silver to white. Klingons seem to be shades of brown. Ferengi, Bolians and several other species may lack hair completely on their crown. Eye Color: The color of your character's eyes. Again, be appropriate to your character. Some species have no iris colors, such as Betazoids (even hybrids). Physical Description: This is an overall description of your character. Please be elaborate here, unless you post an image of an actor/model/dancer/singer/whatever as an avatar, this will be the only thing other players have to go on about your character's appearance. Feel free to tie in the attributes you listed above, and include others. How is your character built? Do they have any physical imperfections? How do they style their hair (if they have any)? What kinds of clothes do they wear, if not a uniform, or while off-duty? Etcetera. Be generous. Family Spouse: Your character's spouse. This may not apply (yet). Children: If your character has any children, list them here. Feel free to describe them if you like. Again, may not (yet) apply to your character. Father: Most characters have one biological father, species-dependent. Write them down here, even if your character doesn't remember them. Mother: Almost all character have to have a mother, someone who gave birth to them. Write their mother here, even if your character doesn't remember them. Brother(s): If your character has any brothers, list them here. May not apply to your character. Sister(s): If your character has any sisters, list them here. May not apply to your character. Other Family: This is the place for any other family your character has. Adoptive parents/siblings, uncles, aunts, grandparents, even close friends that are considered family can go here, but please list the most important or significant relatives. We know characters can have large families, but knowing their Great-Aunt's name is Thelma probably doesn't help the reader, unless Thelma plays or played a large role in your character's life. Personality & Traits General Overview: A general description of your character's personality. Let us know how they normally act here. Strengths: Your character's strengths. You can list them here, but it's usually better to describe them. Some characters have specific strengths. Also, be sure your character is balanced, for as many strengths as they have, try to have an equal number of weaknesses (or get ready to play an unbalanced character!). Characters without a balance of strengths and weaknesses may not be accepted without revision. Weaknesses: Your character's weaknesses. You can list them here, but it's usually better to describe them. Some characters have specific weaknesses. Please try not to copy the strengths, if a particular trait is both a curse and weakness to a character, explain how the different aspects affect them, don't just write it down and leave it there. Again, try to balance your strengths and weaknesses, unbalanced characters are less likely to be accepted without revision. Ambitions: What your character strives for. These can be short term or long term. Perhaps they want to find someone to date, or get over a specific problem they have. Or perhaps they're looking for appreciation, or revenge. Many characters aspire to one day be a starship captain, but even if that's your character, try to give us something else besides that. It's much easier to craft a story for a character with short-term goals than one with a single long-term goal. Hobbies & Interests: Your character's hobbies. This is what they do in their spare time or what they might do when they're idle. Maybe your character likes the same things you do, but don't be afraid to explore a character that's completely different in their interests! Personal Datafile Personal History: This is your character's personal history, before they joined Starfleet or another organization. Tell us about your character as a child, what they went through during their schooling years. Perhaps you can elaborate on what made your character join Starfleet. If anything else happened to them while in Starfleet, a romance or additional schooling, etc, feel free to write it here. Don't include your Starfleet history in this area, though, it belongs in the Professional History field. Education: Where your character was educated. Perhaps they attended a college before Starfleet Academy, or attended a particular high school or prep school. Maybe their education was exotic or perhaps it was normal. If your character has any advanced degrees, you'll want to list the schools they attended to obtain them here. Career Datafile Education: This should state every institution of higher education your character has attended. For most this will be Starfleet Academy and Starfleet Intelligence. Languages: The languages your character knows. Many characters will know Federation Standard (English), but others may know native languages in addition. Some characters may have learned a second or third language in school, or as a hobby. Few characters will learn additional languages out of necessity, unless your character is a linguist or has been in situations which required additional linguistic capabilities, it's less likely that they would know more than a couple languages. Be appropriate with your character's linguistic capabilities. Service Record: Here you list your character's service in Starfleet or another professional organization. This includes (but is not limited to), gangs or organized crime, businesses, government or other military service. Please list it here, and accompany each listing with a year or span of years. Most characters will have spent four years at Starfleet Academy prior to the start of their professional career. Career History: This is the above in written form, a more detailed explanation of your character's time of service. Here you can elaborate on the reasons for joining/leaving a particular assignment, or what transpired during such an assignment that may be significant to your character. Medical Attenda Medical Profile: Some information about your character's medical history. Perhaps they suffer from a disease, ailment, mutation, or have had major injuries in the past. Perhaps they've been as healthy as a horse their entire lives. Whatever the case, feel free to elaborate here. Psychological Profile: This is something of an objective view of your character's personality. How they might be evaluated by a Counselor. It takes some thinking to put this together, so unless you have a firm grasp of your character, you might wish to skip it for now.